40 common medical acronyms and abbreviations

40 common medical acronyms and abbreviations

1. ALS: advanced life support
2. AKI: acute kidney injury
3. AML/ALL/CML/CLL: acute/chronic myeloid/lymphatic leukaemia
4. BMI: body mass index
5. BP: blood pressure
6. CCU: coronary care unit
7. CKD: chronic kidney disease
8. CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation
9. C-spine: cervical spine (as in x-ray of)
10. DNR: do not resuscitate
11. ED/ER: emergency department/emergency room
12. ECG: electrocardiogram
13. GCS: Glasgow coma scale
14. Gluc: glucose (sugar)
15. GP: general practitioner
16. Hb: haemoglobin
17. HDL: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, aka ‘good’ cholesterol
18. HDU: high dependency unit
19. HR: reart rate, written in beats per minute (bpm)
20. ICU: intensive care unit
21. LFTs: liver function tests (or better, liver enzymes)
22. IHD: ischaemic heart disease
23. LDL: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, aka ‘bad’ cholesterol
24. MDU: medical decision unit – also called AMU (acute medical unit), acute assessment unit (AAU) and clinical decisions unit (CDU)
25. MI: myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI types)
26. NICU: neonatal intensive care unit
27. OR: operating room (for surgery)
28. ODP: operating department practioner
29. OT: occupational therapy
30. PCI: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (minimally invasive procedure to open blocked coronary (heart) arteries)
31. Physio: physiotherapy
32. Pre-op: preoperative (before an operation)
33. Psych: refers to psychiatry
34. Rx: prescription (medication)
35. SALT: speech and language therapist
36. Stat: immediately
37. Theatre: operating theatre
38. Trig: triglycerides (similar to cholesterol)
39. U+E: urea and electrolytes (v common blood test, measuring kidney function and minerals in blood)
40. WC: white count.

Some other medical acronyms and abbreviations

• AAA: Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• ACS: Acute coronary syndrome
• AF: Atrial fibrillation
• ASD: Atrial septal defect
• BCC: Basal cell carcinoma
• BPH: Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• CABG: Coronary artery bypass graft
• COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• CF: Cystic fibrosis
• DVT: Deep vein thrombosis
• ESRD/ESRF: End-stage renal disease/End-stage renal failure
• GORD: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
• HOCM: Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
• IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease
• IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome
• MS: Multiple sclerosis
• NSTEMI: Non ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
• OA: Osteoarthritis
• OGD: Oesophagogastro-duodenoscopy (endoscopy)
• Op: Operation
• PE: Pulmonary embolism
• PID: Pelvic inflammatory disease
• PCOS: Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• PVD: Peripheral vascular disease
• RA: Rheumatoid arthritis
• SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma
• STEMI: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Other resources

40 common medical prefixes and suffixes
30 common medical terms
20 common diseases named after people (eponyms)